It was a rough two-week stretch for Nick Rindock and his team. Parkland (17-4 overall, 10-4 Lehigh Valley Conference) lost on back-to-back days to Central Catholic and Bethlehem Catholic, and the senior forward said it was tough watching from the sideline.

The sprained ankle was the first significant injury in Rindock's career, and he did not really know how to handle it or what to think, especially being so close to the end of the season.

"It was hard to be out and I was real upset," Rindock said of the injury that occurred at the Hoop Group tournament on January 26. "I tried to be a good patient and I was in the training room twice every day and iced it at night. I can still feel it a little, but with the brace and tape I feel almost 100 percent."

His game-high 18-point performance led the Trojans to an important 51-30 LVC win in their season finale over Whitehall (13-9 overall, 8-6 LVC) in Orefield last Friday night. With the win, Parkland clinched the North division title, and earned the No. 2 seed in this week's league tournament at Liberty.

"It feels great [to be back]," said Rindock. "I came out with a lot of energy and so did my teammates. That really set the tone."

After a slow start (both teams combined for 15 first-quarter points), the Trojans picked it up offensively and defensively to avenge an early-season loss to the Zephyrs last month.

Jimmy Hahn (five points) and Rindock each hit a shot from beyond the arc, and Justin Zajko added a jumper for the only scoring the Trojans had in the first eight minutes. The first field goal didn't come until the 3:30 mark, when Whitehall took the first of only two leads on a Matt Melosky three. The Zephyrs also led 4-3, but trailed for the remainder of the contest.

An 8-0 run to open the second quarter put Parkland on its way. Rindock tallied 10 points in the period and assisted on two of Ryan Keller's three baskets.

But what may have been even more impressive was the play of the Trojans' defense. Whitehall was held to only six total field goals, and shot 2-for-33 from inside the three-point line. The Zephyrs never scored in double figures in any quarter.

"We really focused on it (defense) in practice and that was our game plan to just play tough defense," said Rindock. "We wanted to pick up the tempo and get up and down the court. If we play good defense, that makes our offense much better."

Parkland also shared the ball well, as the team racked up eight assists on their first ten baskets. Devante Cross and Jimmy Hahn each finished with four assists.

Leading 26-13 at halftime, Parkland kept on rolling. Freshman Sam Iorio scored all seven of his points in the third quarter, and the Trojans held a 20 point advantage for most of the second half.

Parkland took a three-game winning streak into Tuesday's LVC semifinal game against Emmaus.